Boko Haram terrorists caught in Edo

The police in Edo State on Thursday said they had arrested four suspected members of Boko Haram who escaped into the state after perpetrating heinous crimes in neighbouring Kogi.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mohammed DanMallam, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin.

Mr DanMallam said the suspects were nabbed on a tip-off in their hide-out in Afuze, Edo North Senatorial District.

He said on interrogation, one of the suspects confessed to having killed 40 of his victims, while another confessed to having escaped from Koton Karfi Prison in 2014, and also participated in an armed robbery in Ekiti in 2013.

He, however, said that the suspects would be handed over to the Police in Kogi for further interrogation as their crimes were perpetrated in that state.

Mr DanMallam also told NAN that since the inauguration of “Operation Puff Adder” in the state on May 2, the command had recorded some achievements in the fight against crime and criminality.

He said 34 suspects had been arrested in connection with armed robbery, and four others apprehended in connection with kidnapping.

He added that 32 suspected cultists had been arrested since the operation began and that 10 different arms and 215 ammunitions were recovered.

The police chief disclosed that nine victims were rescued from suspected kidnappers, while 11 vehicles were also recovered.

He said the fight against crime was continuous and that the command was committed to reducing the cases in the state to the barest minimum.

Mr DanMallam said that it was untrue that any life was lost in the clash by cult groups in Benin on Monday.

According to him, nobody died during the cult clash around Murtala Mohammed Way, but there was an attempt by some cultists to cause trouble, but we got credible information and the police team repelled them.

“We arrested two of them who are still with us and under investigation because they are from rival groups.”